New Ramen in Ottawa

A few years ago a Japanese acquaintance mentioned that she was seeing an uptick of Japanese people moving to Ottawa. Whether or not this is a reality, here in the capital we are certainly seeing an increase in the number of Japanese eateries.

Jinsei (“Life” in English) is the latest to land along Bank St. and this time right in the heart of downtown at Bank and Laurier.

It is owned and operated by siblings Stella, Harrison and Joshua Lee along with their mother Angela Kang. Angela studied at a famous ramen school in Tokyo and graduated a few years back.

Her son Joshua is a graduate of the George Brown culinary program and over seven years he’s worked at three well-recognized ramen restaurants in Toronto.

I asked Joshua about their food and he went into some detail about how long it takes them to make their broth. He also mentioned that at the moment, their appetizers are prepped at a central kitchen.

Despite not being made in-house, the pork gyoza offered a sweetly delicate mouthfeel with a delicious and subtle profile. In Ottawa it is difficult to get traditional cast iron pan-fried gyoza as most restaurants take a shortcut and simply throw them into the deep fryer. Such was the case here but the shell remained tender enough that the pleasure of eating was preserved.

I’m hard-core old-school when it comes to gyoza and maintain they should never see a deep fryer. Pan frying gives the consumer both a simultaneous crunch and the pleasing chewiness of a well-crafted wrapper. It’s this contrast of textures that adds to the enjoyment.

Ramen comes in a variety of styles with the broth representing the most apparent differences.

Shio is a salt-based soup, Shoyu a Japanese soy and Miso a soybean paste soup. Stock is commonly tonkotsu (pork bone broth) but chicken and clam are also used.

I opted for the Clam Shio broth which also has as its foundation, chicken stock. The aromas hit me first with a faint smokey character wafting from the bowl. As soon as the first spoonful passed my lips, I knew I was in a place to which I would come back again and again.

This was a masterful broth. Fortifying and alive. The soy-cured egg was perfectly executed with the yolk lusciously runny. The scallions had been thoughtfully julienned and the greens were sweet and blanched to preserve both colour and texture.

Two very traditional accompaniments to ramen are chashu pork and menma (seasoned bamboo shoots). If not properly prepared they can have a negative influence on the experience for the ramen lover.

At Jinsei, the chashu is as good as you’re likely to find in Ottawa. The pork was fresh and lovingly seasoned. The bamboo shoots, which can often be akin to chewing through balsa wood, were tender and so good I almost asked for an extra side.

One caveat, I did wish that the more traditional alkalized ramen noodle had been used. These are noodles that are typically yellow and provide a little springy character when chewing. They also resist taking up the broth and becoming water-logged.

At Jinsei they use another Japanese classic: somen noodles. These are also wheat noodles but very white and thin. The somen here was of superior quality and I didn’t detect any leaching of the starch into the soup. That was a relief.

At the moment Jinsei is open Monday to Saturday from 11 am to 3 pm. The reason for the curious hours has to do with a new range stove that they are hoping will be installed by the end of May.

They are currently working off a cooktop that only allows them to make smaller batches of broth and so from 3 pm to 2 am each day, the family prepares broth for the following day's service.

Once they have passed the current “soft opening” phase they will be serving dinner and along with that, a more interesting selection of sake than I’ve seen in other Japanese eateries. They will also be expanding their menu and that includes the ramen. Stay tuned.

Jinsei is worth repeat visits. The food is top-drawer and the family is so very gracious and hospitable. Stop in and say hello.